I think the kites start shipping this week, but I'm sure team riders and shops have been playing with it for a while.Can anyone give some insight on changes from 2013? I know the Envy is the 'easier to fly' kite, but I'm curious as to the stability (gusts, flying too far forward and stalling) and wind range for a high aspect kite. Obviously it's geared towards power/grunt and big boosts.Thanks in advance.

Thanks for the link, superpak. I've seen that one a few times... I think Pete rather likes it, but I can't believe there aren't more people out there who have had a go on the kite.Anyone? LF Team Riders?

Been seeing them out a lot here, haven't ridden one. Every time I see one it makes me wish to ask to ride it though- they nailed the screen printing and the design/shape is epic. I think they nailed it with that kite and i'd be surprised if people end up saying its anything but awesome.

The kite works really well both in light wind & higher windsin the light wind, I had the ability to ride some waves and the kites just waits for imput...where other kiters where walking upwind, i was riding upwind effortless!

when the wind picks up, so does this kite in jumping ability!easy up and easy down. really nice float and jumps.The kite is not very quick, but gives you for sure a lot of pleasure on the waterThe power of the kite is between 11 and 1 lifting, even when your ridingso you feel the kite wants to go up.

Unhooking gives you a nice boots, and some slack in the lines for a trickI had to get used to this a little bit, since its a pretty straight forward boost.

What don't you like about the bar? Could it be the stupidly long throw that even a 9 foot freak wouldn't be able to employ all of it and maybe the excessive bar ends that you could keep under your bed in case a thief broke into your house for protection?

Bryden, First please let me disclose that i work for Liquid Force kiteboarding!! I have been very close to the design process and engineering of the new 2014 kites. So! hopefully i can shed some light on the changes that we have made in the NRG! One question i get asked a ton, and i know other brand mangers, designers, engineers, etc, always get asked is why do we yearly keep making changes...obviously there are varied opinions on this..and this is another topic..but. for us we change to make better and better product in performance, durability, and strive for innovation. Specifically for the 2014 NRG we had some some design goals..1. to increase the turning speed. 2. to retain the stability of this high aspect kite. and 3. in increase the feel at the bar. We also have blanket goals for our kites..such as finding better and stronger materials, stronger construction techniques, and we try hard to keep it simple. So what did we do to the NRG this year to accomplish the goals. Starting with the canopy and the profile of the kite. Julien changed the wingtip profile, making it a touch more swept at the same time changing the way the LE is profiled to the wingtip canopy between the strut and tip..this increases the stiffness in the wingtip and allows for smooth airflow across both the top and bottom surfaces.. results increased response from input from the bar making the kite initiate the turn quicker. Increased the re-launching speed and the profiling eliminates tip flutter..We also went to what we call a Synergy Strut (yes similar to a split strut). this creates a more rigid connection of the canopy to the struts. This "tighter connection again aids in increasing the response from the bar creating a faster turn in the kite. Plus it adds durability in the canopy to strut connection. Next, we had to work on a new bridle configuration. The big challenge as we make changes is to still retain the great qualities of the past generation of kite, such as the speed though the wind window, and the forward position in the wind window that makes the NRG a great upwind kite, and the flatter, higher aspect ratio that give the NRG amazing lift creating a great big air kite! All this is accomplished with the canopy profiling working together with a proper bridle configuration. The NRG bridle now has become shorter overall. This performs a couple benefits. One, the elimination of possible wrapping of the bridle on the wingtip. and two, a closer connection to the kite aids in a more direct feel and response from the kite! Last! as you can see by other thread in this forum materials are being more and more looked at in kite design. We are in this same boat..This year we developed a laminated canopy material, that we are calling Dura-X that is extremely high in the strength to weight ratio and has a high UV resistance. The bottom line..all kites from all brands are made of fabric and breakdown or deteriorate in the harsh conditions that we all use them in..we are in a quest to making our kite more and more resistant to these conditions and add longer life to kites. Hope this info helps a bit.

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